Sunday, June 14, 2009

Make new friends, but keep the old


This past week my best friend from high school, Jessica, and her mom got to come visit kamp. It was so fun to show them around and for them to see where we spend a lot of our lives (at least 1/4 of each year). I have known Jessica since 8th grade and I won't say I'm great at keeping up with high school friends, but she is one who I know will always be a part of my life. Up until now the only time I see old friends is when we are in St. Louis for a visit. So, it was really exciting for me to be able to show her a little of what our "world" looks like. Most people who have never seen Kanakuk for themselves are a little surprised at how big it is, how many activities there are and how many kids come through the gates each week. It was a quick visit, but so enjoyable! I never know for sure when I'll get to see Jess, so I was very thankful she and her mom took the extra time to drop by. Thanks, Jess!

Friday, June 12, 2009

A Backyard Zoo

I went for a run last week one morning before the kids woke up. As I ran through K7 and our neighboring kamp, K-west, and even up the hill into K2, I could hear the lovely cock-a-doodle-dooing of our rooster. I was wondering how many other people were being awakened by the same sound. You many be wondering why we would have a rooster...good question. The rooster is just the beginning, though, of our newest addition to K7: the petting zoo! Yep, we have goats, bunnies, ducklings, chickens, a lamb, pigs, and a turkey. It is right behind our cabin and has provided lots of entertainment so far. Mylee and Isaac have love it, along with all the staff and kampers. Mylee had been hoping for a pink pig with a curly tail and her wish came true. She named him Curly. Isaac was always excited about animals until he got close, but he has gotten a lot braver and walks around in the pen and pets them now. The most amusing thing has probably been the goat that jumps over the fence. We'll walk back to go look at the animals and the goat will just be walking around down by the office eating leaves off trees. If you tell him to "go home" and kind of follow him over to the pen, he jumps back in...until he gets bored. Mylee likes to get him back in when he comes out. The petting zoo has definitely been a big hit, and if we can have pets during the summer and not at our house, that is great with me!
Oh-and after a few mornings of the rooster waking up kampers really early, he went to live somewhere else :)
Here are some pictures of the zoo!




Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Cowboy boots....and tie dye!

During Staff Training Week at K7 we have a theme for each day and everyone is encouraged to dress according to the theme. Two of my favorite days this year were the country western day and 80s day (who doesn't love a good side ponytail?) At the end of the western day we had a western hoe down complete with a cookout, line dancing and lots of boots. Mylee got very much into the theme days this year so when she got to bust our her pink cowgirl boots, she was thrilled. I don't know if the rest of her outfit qualified as "country" but she picked it out and who's to argue with a 3 year old about country attire? She seems to have become quite the performer and didn't shy away at all from going up on stage and dancing with the best of them.




A couple of days later was 80s day and most people went all out for this one. The day was topped off with a roller skating party and Mylee had her first experience on skates. She looked great in her tie dye shirt! The evening was going to be a little late for Isaac so he and I and our dear friends Jenni, Zoey and Ruby stayed behind and went and got ice cream instead. Not much beats 2 little ones with ice cream cones!

Mylee and Lauren getting ready to go...watch out skate world!

Isaac and Zoey working on their cones

Ice cream is the best!

Monday, June 8, 2009

Congratulations, Brian!



My sister's husband, Brian, graduated from Southwest Baptist University a couple of weeks ago. I made the day trip to Bolivar and felt a little old as I counted the number of years ago it was that I graduated from SBU. It was fun to go back and find a favorite teacher, see a friend unexpectedly, and be with family for the day. Congraulations, Brian on a great achievement!

A Hair Raising Experience!

Before kamp started, we took one last trip to St. Louis. It has become a traidition to go visit all the grandparents before we disappear for the summer...and celebrate a couple of birthdays, Mothers Day, get to a Cardinal game and anything else we can cram into one weekend. This year Chad stayed at his parent's for a day to help with the building of a new patio (which turned out great!) and the kids and I went to Mimi and Papa's (my parents) for the day. We ended up taking the kids to the Magic House in Kirkwood and it was awesome!
I lived about 15 minutes from this place all growing up and never went. It was probably the coolest kids place I have been to (besides Disney World, of course). There were 3 HUGE floors of all kinds of rooms to explore....bubbles, sight, sound, pulleys, magnets, smell, wheels, machines, and anything relating to science you could imagine for a kid. The most popular item at the Magic House is a ball that you put your hand on and you get an electric charge (painless) and it makes your hair stand straight up. It was definitely Mylee's highlight. There was a whole section for younger kiddos and had a 2 story house with kid-sized furnishings, a store with real containers and cash registers, a fishing pond, post office, fire station, etc. We had to drag Mylee and Isaac out to go get some dinner. It's always a good thing when they leave asking to come back real soon!